The Pialé building is an innovative and ecological commercial construction located in Guatemala City and designed to reduce energy consumption and use smart building technology where possible. This recently completed 15-story building houses 84 offices, eight ground-floor retail spaces, a green roof and a helipad.
A few minutes from the airport, hotels, and the convention center, the Pialé building is located in the best area of Guatemala City, Zone 10, also known for its tree-lined streets, restaurants, museums, and 19th-century architecture. The area is easily accessible in and out of the main roads of the city.
Introduction
The name of the Pialé building derives from a Greek word, which means “over the sea”. In Italy it is used to describe a town with terraces above sea level. Those same concepts were translated into the design of this modern commercial building, which combines different levels, green terraces and panoramic views of the city.
Grupo Campestre Las Villas, a company that specializes in green buildings, was in charge of the project. Officially opened in 2018, it incorporates three main concepts as part of its overall design: modernity, sustainability, and future-oriented use of technology.
The building includes five smart elevators, green windows, and an air conditioning system that uses air-cooled refrigerators; all this pursues maximum efficiency and lower energy consumption. A building management system integrates all building systems, including video and access control, into a single platform that it monitors and manages.Challenges
Being a new construction project with several complex systems, one of the biggest challenges faced by TAS Seguridad, the local integrator in charge of planning and executing the security aspects of the project, was coordinating with the other providers in charge of the irrigation , water pumps, air conditioning and electric generators. With each system installed by different professionals and manufactured by different companies, it had to be ensured that everyone could communicate seamlessly with Johnson Controls' C•CURE BMS Building Management System, which would function as the management platform for both the safety and for smart building.
“Having a Tyco project manager by our side helped a lot to overcome that challenge,” said Jorge Bardales, president
of TAS Security.
The solution
TAS Seguridad installed an integrated access control, video surveillance, fire alarm and audio system. The C•CURE BMS system offers integrated monitoring of all building technology functions that can be used from a workstation, web browser, or remotely from a mobile device.
The system enables building management through Building Automation Systems (BAS) to monitor and control security, access control and fire detection. TAS monitors fans and the amount of carbon monoxide in basements for carbon monoxide detection and removal. The electric generator, treatment plant, chiller, irrigation system, water pumps and injection and air extraction in the basement are integrated.
The alarm and event management aspects of the C•CURE BMS system are monitored by Software House's C•CURE 9000 security and event management system, via a real-time web view of the BAS monitoring station.
Enabling continuous monitoring throughout the building is a combination of Illustra Flex, Illustra Essential and Illustra Pro cameras installed in the common areas on the ground floor, the garage and outside the building. More than 146 video cameras were installed throughout the building as part of the comprehensive surveillance system, which also includes exacqVision NVRs to record and store video. The garage includes electronic control and LED lights to indicate the status of the barrier. Illustra Flex cameras use technology to monitor visitors and record their faces as well as car license plate numbers. Also the video analytics are for loitering around and abandoned objects.
The five elevators located within the building include advanced call features and are integrated with an EasyLobby visitor control system. The building also enjoys the capabilities of iSTAR Edge control panels that control basement elevator lobbies.
The building and the installed building management systems incorporate the three main pillars that the developers demanded. It's modern, sustainable and green, but also incorporates the latest security and building management technologies. “Tyco's system brought two of its main pillars to our vision: technology through efficient security and control systems, and sustainability through optimization of resources through the BMS. We simply adapted the integrated solution so that it would meet the requirements of the building,” said Bardales.
The future
Now that the building is finished, TAS Seguridad offers its after-sales service with maintenance tasks and continuous technical support for equipment and software updates.
Without the BMS system, it would not be possible to detect problems easily and their resolution would be the responsibility of permanent and rotating technical personnel who would have to check the equipment to ensure that it works correctly.
The system has a unique feature: it can track the number of days since last service, helping to establish a planned maintenance schedule and thus avoid unnecessary downtime. This allows the building management to reduce operation and maintenance expenses.
The owners of the Piale building are satisfied with the advice and support from TAS, as well as the installed Tyco products. With the implementation of the BMS system, they feel safe and comfortable.
The client
The Piale building was built by the Grupo Campestre Las Villas, a company located in Guatemala City, which works on developments of housing, homes, businesses and buildings that respect the environment. They use innovative technology and provide quality of life for occupants and visitors.
TAS
TAS is a regional security system integrator group founded in Guatemala in 1996 and has its own offices in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Since its foundation, they have worked hard to become the best integrator of electronic security solutions, such as vehicle access control, pedestrian access control, video surveillance, alarms and building automation in the region. Its value proposition is supported by a highly qualified team that specializes in leading brands around the world and guaranteeing the best price-quality-service ratio for customers.
Grupo TAS Corp. integrates innovative electronic control solutions and continuously works to be the best regional partner for customers through innovative products and services, operational excellence, high performance culture and social responsibility.
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